Rethink on airport link

The chief advantage of the £600m Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (Earl) was to be a seamless connection with the main railway lines leading north, south and west, making rail rather than road the first choice of travellers. Yesterday the flagship transport programme of the previous Scottish administration was deemed "not sensible" by Stewart Stevenson, the Transport Minister, as he announced a replacement scheme stopping short of the airport itself and requiring passengers to travel the last mile to the terminal by tram. The new scheme will cost £200m (roughly the same as the Glasgow airport link).